


White Flowers

by captain_staryeyed



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, F/M, Flowers, Modern AU, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 14:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17101964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_staryeyed/pseuds/captain_staryeyed
Summary: A new shop opens on Jacin's street, and he finds himself enamored with the owner.





	White Flowers

The shop bell chimed. 

“Just a minute,” Jacin tried to call out, but it ended up sounding more like gibberish due to the flower stems crammed in between his teeth.

Jacin looked up from behind the large bouquet of lilies and snapdragons he was currently working on. He froze. At the door stood the most stunning girl the fair-haired florist had ever seen. 

She gazed around the room, eyes filled with wonder. Her lips turned upward as if stuck in a permanent smile. Thick black curls framed her face, which held the same sort of innocence you would expect to see in a child’s.

The girl caught his eyes and smiled. His heart stopped.

_What are you doing, you look like a fool!_

Regaining his composure, Jacin straightened and took the flowers out of his mouth.

“How may I help you,” his usual disdain for human life returning in his tone.

The tall girl’s white sundress swished as she crossed over to the counter and set down the wicker basket Jacin had not noticed she was carrying.

“Hi, I’m your new neighbor, Winter. I just moved into the shop across the street, and I wanted to invite all of the other shop owners to my grand opening.”

Winter plucked an invitation from her basket and held it out to Jacin. When he didn’t take it from her, she set it on the countertop. She stood for a moment, taking in his shop, which looked more like a greenhouse than a rental on Main Street. Her bright eyes widened when they landed on the white peonies. 

Before he knew what she was doing, she walked over to the flowers. The sleeve of her white leather jacket fell as she stroked their delicate petals. Jacin’s eyes bulged when he noticed what appeared to be a tattoo creeping out from under her jacket sleeve. 

“These are beautiful,” she breathed.

So are you. Jacin dispelled the thought as soon as it came. He would not allow himself to be the type of guy that fawns over every pretty girl who entered his place of business.

“Well,” Winter glanced at her wristwatch, “I must be going. I do hope to see you at the party.” 

Smiling at him once more, she grabbed her basket and left.

Jacin watched through the window as Winter skipped to the next shop. His attention snagged on the white peonies, and an idea sprouted in his head.

 

 

Artemisia Tattoos. Jacin stared up at the sign then back down at the invitation. Much to his dismay, the addresses matched. Perhaps it was a typo, but one glance at the crowd inside snuffed out that theory. The pretty, childlike girl owned a tattoo parlor. Well, maybe that was not the weirdest thing Jacin had seen, but it was definitely up there.

Gathering himself, Jacin pushed open the glass door. He scanned the room. The scruffy blonde man from the bar served punch to the petite girl from the technician’s office. In the corner, the girl from the mechanic’s garage chatted with the girl from the Shoe Palace and some other boy who looked vaguely familiar. Had Jacin known there would be so many people, he might have stayed home.

There, chatting with an unusual looking couple snuggled up on one of the parlor chairs, stood Winter, now donning a white cocktail dress that revealed an entire sleeve tattoo depicting a menagerie of animals.

When she noticed him staring at her, she looked up and smiled. Then, excusing herself from her conversation, she approached him.

“Hello, again, neighbor. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe I caught your name yesterday.”

Jacin blushed under her eager gaze. “It...it’s Jacin. These are for you.”

He held out an elaborate bouquet of blood red roses and white peonies.

“Oh,” she gingerly took the assortment. “These are gorgeous . . . Thank you.”

Winter grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the counter.

“Wait here.” Flowers in hand, she ducked into the back room. 

A few agonizingly long minutes passed by. Jacin glanced around the room full of almost strangers and forced himself not to bolt. He did not enjoy social gatherings, to say the least.

Finally, Winter returned with the flowers, now in a glass vase. She placed the vase next to the cash register and adjusted it until she was happy with how it looked.

“So,” Jacin, uncomfortable in their silence, started. “You're a tattoo artist. Why?”

_Spades, Jacin. You don’t just go around asking people why they choose their career paths._

Winter’s smile widened if that was even possible.

“Well, I love making art. I always have. It makes me feel connected to my birth mother, even though I never met her. Plus, there is something poetic about the permanence of tattoos.” 

Jacin blinked.

“Also, I enjoy watching people's reactions when they learn that I'm a tattoo artist”

He smirked.

“You don’t smile much, do you Jacin.” Winter stated. “Well, you really should. I’m sure you’d look even more handsome.”

“I don’t smile. Ever.” Jacin deadpanned.

“Then that will be my mission in life, Jacin Lastname-”

“Clay.” 

Winter nodded. “Okay, Jacin Clay. From this moment on, my life is dedicated to the cause of making you smile at least once.” 

“Well, in that case, challenge accepted.”

Her attention turned back to the flowers. “These are beautiful, too bad they will eventually wilt and force me to order new ones.”

“I look forward to it.”

_Oh, stars, are we flirting?_

“This marks the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Winter looped her arm in his and led him over to the other guests.

And so it was.

**Author's Note:**

> Even though the series is near and dear to my heart, I don't usually write Lunar Chronicles fanfic.  
> Also, I know Scarlet and Wolf aren't featured in this. I wrote it for a friend of mine, and she didn't particularly care for those characters, so I left them out.  
> Hope it turned out to your liking, and thank you for reading.


End file.
